By Jim Noel
Winter so far has seen major swings in weather patterns but in the end we are close to normal temperatures and precipitation.
For the remainder of January milder and wetter are the words. The attached graphic shows the NWS Ohio River Forecast Center's 16-day precipitation outlook which is wet. Normal precipitation is near 2 inches with the mean forecast being 2-5 inches.
Going forward for the remainder of winter it looks a little warmer and wetter than normal with still significant swings in weather patterns.
The early outlook for spring planting season suggests a slightly warmer than normal season with precipitation normal or slightly above normal. Some planting delays would be possible. Historical data suggests a slightly later than normal last freeze date.
The early outlook for the summer growing season suggests a warm to hot summer with rainfall potentially below normal.